Biggest thanks for Ace-Triad for fixing my SPAG problems, and Angel Wraith for beta-reading the chapter.
Special thanks to my long time reviewer DJman248 for mentioning if Naofumi can use another shield without his legendary shield, which inspired a later scene in this chapter.
As always, I will blabber some more in my end note.
"What has gotten into you, Streibough?!" Sir Oersted jumps up from where he was sitting with his legs crossed. The young knight runs over to his 'friend', and pulls the sleeve of the enraged disciple of Lady Sheffield. "Why are you antagonizing the people we are trying to protect? Miss Sophia and Miss Siesta are pretending to be Princess Malty and the Shield Hero. They aren't the real thing!"
"Stop being an idiot and think, Oersted!" Straw boy points his free hand at his head. "If the king knows he's about to die, or pass out from fighting in the Third Wave. Would he randomly pass his Star Wand to someone he won't even know? What if it lands on someone who wants to harm his family? What if it lands on a demi-human he hates? Or someone outside this country? It would make more sense he would pass his hero weapon to someone he knows and trusts."
The commoner mage slowly turns around, casting a very dirty look to Mein. "And who would he know better than his own flesh and blood daughter? Who else would be more fitting for the task of fighting for the stability of their nation and his own family? Especially if she's backed up by one of the legendary heroes?"
It might simply be the smug little shit's ability to wildly connect dots, and he did get a few points completely wrong (such as not knowing Father's incandescent hatred towards the Shield Hero). But once again, Mein can almost taste her own fear at the insolent straw boy's ability to put things together. Of course, he'd be more intimidating if he doesn't immediately run his mouth off, and hold onto the information to reveal them at a most critical and opportune time. Unfortunately for her, he revealed everything in the most inopportune time for her.
"Now you are just being paranoid and unreasonable, Streibough. Everyone knows that Cardinal Heroes are always men." Oersted takes his eyes off his friend to look at Naofumi, comically still not realizing he is a young man dressed as a village girl. "Plus even if there's no issue with Miss Siesta's gender, where is her shield if she is the Shield Hero?"
"I knew she was too ugly, even for a commoner! He's clearly a man dressed up like a woman!" Despite the situation, Mein can't help but feel her eyebrow raising. Did the little shit just used 'commoner' like a dirty word, even though he himself is of humble birth? It seems like one can still be a complete idiot, despite their superior intelligence compared to most other people. "As for the shield. A legendary weapon can take many different forms. I don't know how, but he's clearly hiding it from us! This explains why 'she' learns miracles so easily. Being champions of the gods, Cardinal Heroes are naturally mortal with the closest link to the Divine Sphere!"
Chapter 92: Paranoia
The demi-human warriors are definitely pulling out their weapons once again. Seeing clear malice, Oersted follows their example as he quickly backs away from Streibough to stand protectively in front of Naofumi.
Honestly, she already knows the facade is near its end. It's not like Zylden didn't figure out her true identity with much less information than straw boy had. As soon as she shows the Star Wand she inherited from Father, she should know the time's up.
Mein is about to take a step forward to admit her identity, hopefully taking the attention away from Naofumi when he beats her to it. "Yes. I am the Shield Hero. But you are wrong about my companion's identity. She is an adventurer from the town of Samphor. We visited her hometown earlier in our journey, and I already met her mother."
"Miss Siesta, I mean, Lord Shield Hero?" Oersted turns his neck back, trying to look at the one he's protecting. His knees seem to bend from pressure. The young knight looks torn between showing a legendary hero the respect he naturally deserved, and protecting him from people who might do him harm.
The fugitive princess feels like hiding her face in her hands again. Does Naofumi not realize how much danger he is in for admitting to Streibough's accusation? They are standing before the last two surviving members of Q'ten Lo's House Okami. The family of warrior priests the last Shield Hero before Naofumi massacred, supposedly down to the last man during his Q'ten Lo campaign. Considering what Father did, it's hard not to imagine House Okami would hold similar vitriol towards Shield Hero as a whole.
Not to mention this guy did threaten to kill Streibough simply for revealing his sister and his own real identity. Because he was afraid his enemies might send assassins to murder his sister once the word gets out. Something tells the fugitive princess that the guy who happens to be chosen by the same cardinal weapon that wiped out his family would fall under the category of his enemy.
"MISS SIESTA! What has gotten into you?! Has the prospect of impersonating the Shield Hero messed your head-" Mein takes a step towards Naofumi, trying to desperately put what he carelessly revealed back. But Naofumi once again stops her by holding his hand up.
"No point in hiding it anymore. I think everyone has already made up their mind. Trying to lie through our teeth only makes us look bad now." Naofumi sweeps his eyes through the faces of the demi-humans surrounding him and shakes his head. While that might be true… he still shouldn't have flat out given away his identity, and bet his survival solely on the other side's non-existent mercy.
"The last Shield Hero killed most of my family. That's what my Father told us before he died." Ken narrows his eyes as he walks in front of everyone to stand in front of Naofumi. His body is tense, like a bow with an arrow knocked and string fully pulled to the back. Minami looks like she wants to say something, but Ken didn't even let her start this time. He raises his army faster than a bolt of lightning, and covers his younger sister's mouth.
Sir Oersted's arm jerks up, trying to strike Ken seemingly out of reflex rather than a calculated move. But Naofumi puts a hand near his shoulder and pushes the knight's arm back down. The Shield Hero takes a step forward, step over Oersted to stand in front of Ken.
The last Okami warrior glares at the Shield Hero of the current Wave of Catastrophe right in the eyes. "Did you bring those church bastards here to finish the job your predecessor started?"
"I'm not the King of Rape. I don't agree with lots of things I heard he did." Naofumi stares right back at the wolf boy who is about a head taller than him. "As for bringing the Three Heroes' Church here… oh, I don't doubt they came looking for me. But the only one they'll finish the job on is me. In case you didn't know, the one they excluded from their little private club was the Shield Hero. ME."
Ken didn't relax his posture, but he did nod his head. "Go on then. Tell me your full story. Explain why all this secrecy. I'll decide what to do with you after hearing your tale."
That's certainly much more grace than what Father was willing to give to Naofumi. The fugitive princess of glorious Melromarc doesn't know what to think. That even the vengeful son of a fallen Q'ten Lo noble house acted more fairly than her Father. Perhaps Nagumo's earlier words did reach Ken's head afterall.
"When and where do you want me to start? Do you want me to start from the beginning? About how I was nearly framed for raping my only companion after only a single day with her or do you want me to go even further? They never told me who the culprit was, come to think about it. The spymaster was thinking foreign sabotage. But now that I think about it, THE Three Heroes' Church seems to be the most likely candidate." Naofumi takes a seemingly deliberate pause as Ken growls impatiently.
If this ramble was done by one of the other three heroes, Mein would simply assume they have either lost their mind, or intimidated by the wolf boy to the point of unable to properly think. But with his calm, almost flippant demeanor, Mein wonders if he is planning something. Such as subtly pointing out to House Okami, and their vassals, how they have a common enemy in the Three Heroes' Church.
"Don't play coy with me, you little shit!" Ken clearly wasn't impressed, or amused by the Shield Hero's moxy. He scowls at Naofumi, but at least he hasn't picked the slightly shorter man up by his neck, like he did with Streibough. Mein assumes that's a good sign, so far. Although she never expected anyone would call the Shield Hero 'little shit'. "Start near the end of the blasted Wave. That's when everything started."
"Right. I was with my fellow heroes. Still had my party with me too. The Pope of the Three Heroes' Church was fighting alongside us too. We defeated the Wave Boss together with the army's help. But before the Wave is over, someone jumped in and summoned some fucking goddess and she starts to go around beating people-" It seems like the Shield Hero did learn some lessons from the Three Heroes' Church's betrayal. He didn't straight up mention the one who summoned the goddess was one of his former companions simply to be open and honest. But before he is finished accounting for the events, he's interrupted by Oersted's surprised exclamation.
"WAIT! There really WAS an outer god? I thought it was something made up!" Oersted jumped up on his feet, while looking at the Shield Hero with what seems to be new found admiration. "And you survived it? Only on the Third Wave? In the past when outer gods invade during the Wave of Catastrophe, it's usually near the end like from the Tenth Wave of so. And it's a bloodbath everytime it happens!"
"Then it's clearly only some kind of pretender. Not an actual god. If it's only on the Third Wave, and he survived." Streibough crosses his arms in front of his chest as he snorts at Naofumi. "Either that, or he ran like a coward from the outer god. There's no way a hero only on the Third Wave is powerful enough to face an actual god and survive. That would explain why Three Heroes' Church is after him. They are chasing after a cowardly deserter!"
"Master Naofumi did NOT desert, you arrogant little straw boy! He was one of the first to challenge the goddess, and she stole his shield from him! That's why we've been hiding our identity all this time!" Mein finally let loose of her anger on Streibough as she had just about enough of his smug comments. The disciple of Sheffield's apprentice wipes his head back to glare at her back with a silent, yet still venomous hiss.
"Wait, the Shield Hero… lost his shield?" Nagumo didn't skip a beat at Mein's slip up. In hindsight, it might not be the smartest thing to do in the situation to reveal that the Shield Hero lost his shield. Especially when he is surrounded by the descendants of the remnant group who used to be the enemy of his predecessor.
"We aren't going to harm the Shield Hero, Are we?" Minami finally manages to snap away from her elder brother's grip. She spins her head around, looking at everyone standing straight as arrows in their safe house. "He's one of the good guys! He saved Saya and me from those mean guards when they tried to enslave us!"
"Be quiet, Minami. Let him finish first." Ken didn't react much about the Shield Hero's newfound witness. The wolf boy didn't even look away from Naofumi's face through the whole side exchange. Mein can feel her palm moist from sweat, especially since it happened due to her own lapse of judgment. But so far the situation doesn't seem to be deteriorating.
"Yes. The goddess stole my shield. I couldn't use it even if I wasn't hiding my identity." Naofumi pulls his sleeves up, showing his very empty arm. "For some reason, she was trying to act non lethal, for the most part. Although she did try to kill Mein, thinking she's some kind of witch."
"Hey! Isn't that just like what Sir Chevalier told us? Like that supposed reincarnate of the Holy Spirit." Oersted turns his attention on Mein now, his eyes suddenly seemed to grow large. "Are you related to the royal family somehow, Miss Mein? I know Lord Shield Hero said you aren't actually the first princess like he is the real Shield Hero. But maybe one of your ancestors was from some disowned cadet branch, or maybe born out of wedlock?"
"And you believe him? After he lied to us all the whole time about who he is?!" Straw boy's voice is filled with barely contained incredulousness. Mein actually understood him this time, somewhat. The situation she found herself to be in is… surreal, for lack of a better word.
"Mein and I hid our true identities, because we were betrayed by the Three Heroes' Church." The Shield Hero glimpse at Streibough from the corner of his eyes. "They blamed the whole goddess thing on me, and immediately attacked us. Two of our companions were killed to let us escape, by the skin of our teeth. We didn't know who we could trust after their betrayal."
"As short sighted and idiotic as that sounds, it definitely seems to match what's been happening around us." Uranus blinks his eyes, while rubbing his left hand over his balding head. The poor elderly priest looks like he's between the need to sit down, and the want to stand between the Shield Hero, and a very angry looking wolf boy with an ax to grind. "Although I'd imagine you would have been in a better situation if you told Lord Commander Cloud of your real identity. One of the main points he's going to talk about with the Three Heroes' Church is the treatment of the Shield Hero."
"I hope you will forgive us for our skepticism, Master Uranus." Trying to recover from her earlier blunder, Mein steps over closer to the Shield Hero, and the Four Heroes' Church priest. She did find a sliver of irony in their situation. On how she was trying to hide Naofumi's identity from the Four Heroes Church. But now, she is betting on their chance to be saved from Three Heroes' Church's scheme by finding evidence, and then rely on the influence of Four Heroe's Church. "We have just escaped with our lives, and lost everything else including our other companions due to one church's betrayal. Our trust in other people, especially a powerful religious group, isn't very high."
"No, there is nothing to forgive. Miss Sophia… or do you prefer Miss Mein now?" Uranus slowly turns his head. "I understand your trepidation perfectly. And you clearly did an adequate job at keeping one of the four Cardinal Heroes alive under the circumstance. Although with this new found knowledge of your true identity and his grace entrusting you with the Star Wand… Lord Cloud's vision."
"So. We are just going to forget all about these two sent us on a completely irrelevant errand to risk our lives?" Streibough puts his hands on his waist. The arrogant mudblood clearly isn't happy with the direction this conversation is going. "Now the Three Heroes' Church is here. Burning down chapels and enslaving people because of him! And we are supposed to treat their deception like it didn't happen?"
"Master Shield Hero and I did NOT beg for any of you to put your life on the line for us. We were perfectly fine trying to survive on our own trying our best to hide from the Three Heroes' Church's prosecution!" The fugitive princess turns her head to glare back at Streibough. "Lord Commander Cloud was the one who requested the aid of Gallia to escort us. Because he thought I would become someone important to fight alongside the heroes in the future. And it was Captain Polnareff who assigned you and Sir Oersted to our protection! As for the two of us bringing the Three Heroes' Church here with our presence - yes, that makes total sense! Because we would totally want to attract our biggest enemy who just killed some of our friends, and tried to kill us here when we are at our weakest! It's not like greedy, self-serving schemers would do greedy, self-serving things and just come up with any excuse they can find!"
"Yeah, and I was the one to ask her to accompany us. Because I was worried for Sir. Dillon and his investigation on the rumored cultists!" The young knight looks back at Mein and Naofumi, before turning to face his 'friend'. "I understand you are upset, Streibough. But you are being overly paranoid, and blaming Lord Shield Hero for something out of his control."
"They didn't stop us from going into danger either! And why would they not stop us from getting into dangerous situations when they were trying to stay unnoticed and hide from the church? I wouldn't even be surprised if they meant for us to get into trouble with the cultists, so they'll leave us to die and escape without exposing their secret identities!" The arrogant straw boy shows how scarily accurate his instincts were. Or perhaps he is simply paranoid enough to think the worst of everyone, and it just so happened to line up with Mein's original plan by coincidence.
From her peripheral vision, Mein can't help but notice how Ken quietly observes the argument that suddenly broke amongst the Gallians and the newly discovered Shield Hero. He didn't interrupt them, despite Oersted technically interrupting his own conversation with the Shield Hero first to start this new line of debate. Which seems to counter the brash, no nonsense, almost cruel demeanor he puts on.
As someone who had her own experience observing Mother and Father's court. Mein is almost sure that the wolf boy is much more patient and observant than he lets on. And right now, he's simply letting the whole argument between humans play out to get a better read on everyone.
"And would you rather the two of us denied Sir Oersted's request, and never discovered the activities of that strange cult? Master Naofumi may have lost his shield to the goddess, but he is still the Shield Hero. Someone whose duty is to protect this world." Mein felt Naofumi's piercing gaze fixed on her. The Shield Hero also knows that Streibough's accusation is right this time, but he's smart enough to stay quiet instead of confirming her less altruistic goal than she is presenting. "As for leaving your group to die - That's even more laughable! If I wanted to do that, all I had to do was to run with Master Naofumi. Then lending my aid to you with my magic. All of you would have been dead already, if it wasn't for Master Naofumi noticing those ash creatures re-assembling themselves back together, and me capturing them with my water magic. And here, I expected the apprentice of Lady Sheffield would have known better. She clearly only picked you for your wide magical affinity, if this is how stupid your mind actually works!"
"You two would have died as well! Those profaned ash creatures had us all surrounded! And your magic! I knew something didn't add up! And there's no way for you to be another apprentice of Lady She-" Streibough suddenly stops his growling as he realized he had made a slip due to his tantrum induced rant. Unfortunately for him, he can take back what left his mouth as well as someone who can put back water that's been poured out of a bowl onto the ground.
"Where did that come from, Streibough? Why would you think Miss Sophia, or Miss Mein, have the same teacher as you do?" Oersted's head pivots to the side like a confused and curious filorial, clearly not connecting things together.
"Remember when he first questioned my magical prowess when we were fighting those ash creatures, Sir Oersted? Well, dear Mister Streibough here didn't let that topic drop. When we were leaving Sir Antonio at the outpost, he swung me to the side of the mess hall and tried to interrogate me." Mein narrows her eyes at the now visibly sweating straw boy. Oh, she so does enjoy seeing the little shit squirm. Right now, she's putting most of her will power into not showing a gratified smirk on the corner of her mouth. "All I did was ask him if he was the only apprentice of Lady Sheffield, and he thought I had the same mentor as he did."
"What? You tried to interrogate Miss Mein? That's not very nice. Wait…" Oersted's indignation is interrupted by himself as his brows twist into a massive knot. "Didn't you two tell us how you were talking about Sir Antonio's condition after he got sick? Why were you trying to hide that?"
"WHO ARE YOU REALLY?!" At this point, all sense of calm seems to have left the insolent straw boy. He roars at Mein with what he seems to think was his last lifeline to win this argument by calling into question her identity. "A COMMONER GIRL FROM SAMPHOR SHOULDN'T KNOW, OR UNDERSTAND ANY OF THIS!"
Too bad for him, the identity of 'Mein of Samphor' does have a reason to know more about courtly affairs than the origin of her home town would have suggested. "Ah, but I do, Mister Streibough. To answer your question, I may come from the backwater town of Samphor mostly known for its abundant, quality lumber. But my mother was a maid of House Ascart, and my Father was their scribe. Growing up, I wasn't the best behaving kid. As I sometimes read certain documents that pass through my Father's hands without him realizing it. And I knew about how Prince Joseph once contested the right to rule this nation against Princess Mirellia. Count Ascart is disillusioned with The Game and stays far away from it, but he isn't blind to The Game still being played after he was exiled back home."
Now I got you, you insolent little mudblood worm!
"I still don't understand it." Oersted looks left and right, completely lost at the sudden turn of the conversation. Perhaps it's because the main branch of House Oersted was from Faubley, for the young knight clearly didn't have a solid education on politics apart from his martial training. "Okay, Miss Mein used to read documents she wasn't supposed to as a child, and that's why she knows things she would normally be able to. But what does it have to do with you two hiding the conversation you had from us. And how does some supposed game have to do with this whole thing?"
"The Game Miss Mein is referring to, is what is known as 'The Game of Thrones' by the nobility. A more subtle way to describe the political scheming, and backstabbing involved around a dynasty's succession and the power behind the throne. Especially when it results in a change in said dynasty." Uranus, the elderly and seasoned priest of Gallia city helpfully steps in and explains to the young knight who is hopelessly out of his depth. "She is alluding to how Prince Joseph had more aspiration than simply to inherit the throne to Gallia, and tried to reinstate House De Gallia as the ruling family of this nation. And as his most loyal supporter, Lady Sheffield, and all her apprentices would naturally work towards his goal. It shouldn't have been my place to question it as a man of Faith, but… Streibough, are the Three Heroes' Church's more recent activities connected to Lady Sheffield? And more importantly, Prince Joseph?"
"Bu- but… wouldn't that be… you know, treason?" Finally realizing the gravity of the situation, Oersted stutters over his words. "Are you telling me Princess Alethea's Father is involved with-"
"The Game is a commonly known and accepted practice in any king, or queen's court. And it's only considered treason if someone starts out a failed coup, or rebellion." Oersted's face doesn't look any happier after hearing Uranus' explanation. Clearly, this is the first time for the young knight to learn the less glamorous side of any liege's court. The elderly priest lets him think over this new discovery and turns to look at Streibough next. "So, I ask you again, Streibough. How much connection does Prince Joseph have with the Three Heroes' Church? And more specifically, what's currently going on at Graile?"
"Of course, His Grace has a cordial relationship with the Three Heroes' Church! It's the strongest religious faction of Melromarc. Everyone who is someone important is on their good side." Streibough glares at the Shield Hero from the corner of his eyes, making the intentional unsaid words clear. "As for what they did here in Graile. No, it has nothing to do with Prince Joseph. Graile is directly under the control of his grace, and one of the more important fortresses shielding Gallia City. Why would he have allowed someone to make a mess, and destabilize this fortress city."
Despite his indignant denial, Mein doesn't put much trust in Streibough's words. It goes to the reason that someone guilty of a scheme wouldn't readily confess unless facing down overwhelming evidence. She didn't admit to the straw boy's accusation of her intentionally leading the Gallians to die, or fake Naofumi and her own death to get away from them either.
As for the mad prince of Gallia. Well, his thought process is clearly different than most people. She still remembers the sorry state of Gallia City itself over two decades since the brutal Siltvelt occupation. And if Prince Joseph allowed his own seat power to stew in squalor, what does it say about Graile and its people if it gives him an army of slaves with an excuse of deniability?
"It does not matter who is responsible for beginning the Three Heroes' Church. We are trapped in this cut off underground catacomb." Ken finally steps over and puts a stop to the argument between humans. From the way he squinted at Streibough from the corner of his eyes, the wolf boy doesn't look like he believed in straw boy's denial either. "We'll do our best to prepare for our breakout plan. But don't try something funny and try to sell us out to the church. I'll have my warriors look closely at all of you now."
"Were you harmed, Master Naofumi?" With the Okami boy no longer looming over them, Mein runs over to the Shield Hero's side and guides him away to the wall. The Okami Clan remnants peer at them with their hands on the handle of their weapons, but they didn't try to attack or stop them. "What happened? Why did that straw boy have another outburst?"
"Oh, yeah. I wanted to show you this. Look." The Shield Hero pulls his arm away from Mein's grasp. For a moment, his face scrunches up in concentration, and a construct of golden light in the shape of a small buckler forms on his shield arm. "You remember Father Gordon making a pair of hard light gauntlets around his arms?"
Thinking over the head of Graile Chapel who sacrificed himself to let them escape, both Mein and Naofumi look away from each other in a brief moment of mutual silence.
"I wanted to learn how to do something similar, but maybe focus it into a shield to go with my defensive growth. That's why I asked Uranus to train me. Turns out, it's kind of like casting a [Barrier]. Except I have to condense it up, and have it form around my arm." The Shield Hero resumes his explanation after they made their moment. He shows Mein a genuine smile despite everything that's happening recently. "It doesn't compare to one of the stronger shield forms I had before. And obviously I can't use any of my shield abilities. But it's something, and I'm not going to be completely helpless and hide behind everyone else."
"That's good to know. But don't charge head first into danger. We are still much weaker than we were from before. We have to act the part and avoid danger." Mein gives an approving light tap on Naofumi's shoulder with her hand. "I'm guessing your achievement triggered that straw boy's bout of jealousy?"
"Yeah. He started going off about how there's no way a commoner girl from a fishing village can be this talented at mastering miracles. With the way he acted, you would have thought he's another one of those arrogant rich, noble boys. Not… well, you know." Naofumi shakes his head in disgust. He is clearly also at his wit's end with Streibough's standoffish attitude.
"I'll be honest. Out of all our Gallian escorts, I especially don't trust him. He's clearly a part of whatever scheme Princes Joseph, and his royal battle mage is involved in judging from how he reacted when I made him think I was another apprentice of Lady Sheffield. And he's likely hiding a lot of things from everyone. I'll have to watch him as close as these Okami Clan remnants watch over us." Mein stops her whispering with the Shield Hero when she sees Sir Oersted walking towards them.
"So… Lord Shield Hero, huh…" The young knight scratches his messy hair while looking around at the ground, not daring to meet his gaze with the one he's addressing. "This… this is a bit awkward. Since I've been treating you like a girl of humble birth. I owe you an apology for not treating you properly as your stature required. And I shamed myself as a knight of Gallia."
"There's nothing to feel ashamed, or apologize for. Sir Oersted." Mein takes over the immediate response. Knowing Naofumi still isn't fully educated on how to properly react to this kind of situation. "We were hiding our true identities to avoid religious persecution from the most powerful church of the glorious Melromarc. It would have been counterproductive to our goal if you acted overly respectful towards someone who is supposed to be of humble birth. And on that front, you acted with courtesy befit of your own station to someone of lower status. Neither Master Naofumi, nor I have anything to complain about your behavior."
"Yeah. Not to mention you acted pretty fair and loyal the whole time. Didn't try to start shit like your friend over there." Naofumi throws a glare towards a certain straw boy standing on the other side of the catacomb. The little shit seems to have picked up the vitriol thrown his way, as he narrows his eyes and glares right back.
"Oh, yeah. I should apologize for my friend in that case." Sir Oersted looks back at his mage 'friend' before he locks eyes with the Shield Hero this time. "He had a pretty rough time at the start when he first arrived in Gallia city. Trying to start an apprenticeship with the guild. I guess I should have done more for him. But don't let the way he acts get to you. He's really helpful with his smarts, once he turns around."
Somehow, Mein highly doubts Oersted's assessment. A bitter man who is an idiot isn't too dangerous due to their lack of intelligence. But a bitter man who is smart, and supposedly working alongside her? He could have done a lot of things to sabotage whatever she's planning. Especially since what she is planning now is to incite a revolt. But she gives an affirmative, if non-committal answer back to the young knight. "We'll see."
"I guess I'll have to treat you with the respect you deserve from now on. Lord Shield Hero." The young knight speaks words that would have come off as bootlicking for someone else. But it sounds sincere coming from him, especially considering the situation Naofumi is stuck in doesn't make him come off lordly in any way.
"No. Treat me like before. I still don't have my shield back, and the Three Heroes' Church is still trying to kill me. Presumably. I wouldn't have risked 'pretending' to be myself, if we were trapped in this city, and Mein volunteered to act as a princess to hopefully turn the garrison against the Three Heroes' Church." The Shield Hero takes a pause and blink together with the young knight. It seems like they just realized what they'll be doing is essentially inciting a revolt. "Anyways. The important thing is after this, I'm going back disguising myself as Siesta of Tarbe-"
"Siesta of Totela, Master Naofumi. Tarbe is a Faubley town."
"Right. What Mein said." The Shield Hero gives her a blank look before turning back to Oersted. "The point is, revealing my true identity will be very bad for my health. So I'm going to pretend like some regular villager. At least till I run far away from the Three Heroes' Church, or someone in this country steps up and stops them. I… I don't know what'll happen to me in the next Wave. Come to think of it. Would I still be summoned right into the Wave even without my shield?"
That is… actually a really good question. The fugitive princess racks over her brain, trying to recall something similar previously. She slept through her fair share of history lessons, but she's pretty sure that there isn't a precedent where a legendary hero lost their weapon while the wave is happening. She would have some memory for such a significant event.
The most comparable situation was what happened when Mikage was imprisoned by the beast in Siltvelt. Even in that case, he didn't actually lose his shield. The Siltvelt animals simply found some unholy magic that allowed them to siphon his power and left him too weak to defend himself. And it didn't happen while a wave was going on, before the Martyr of the Bow came to his rescue.
"Can you still use a shield?" Mein's thought is suddenly interrupted by Oersted's suggestion. She's about to open her mouth, chastise the over eager and inexperienced knight for suggesting something so stupid when he continues on. "I mean. I know there's the whole [legendary weapon restriction]. But shouldn't it only apply to a weapon, and a shield technically is a piece of armor, not a weapon?"
"Good question… I didn't think of it. Do you mind passing me your buckler? Let's try it." Naofumi blinks his eyes. He grabs the buckler Oersted handed to him, and flips it around a couple of times. "Well… I don't have a problem holding it. But I can also hold a weapon on my body just fine, I can even cut things with a dagger as long as I'm not actively fighting against someone. Take a swing at me, let's see what happens when I try to parry you."
"Right. Here we go." Oersted takes a few steps away from the Shield Hero. He wraps his fingers around the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it out before pausing himself. The young knight seems to think about his action and unties his sword with its sheath of his waist. Showing that despite his inexperience, he's not an idiot.
Mein looks through what forms she has access to from the menu of her own staff. She picks the form of a standard sword wand, and is ready to step in if something bad happens as both Oersted and Naofumi get into their respective stance. The young knight takes an exaggerated breath, and swings his sword over his head with a very obvious telegraph to the defending Shield Hero to let him know what's coming. The Shield Hero meets Oersted's buckler on his still sheathed sword… and a sudden jolt sparked between them as soon as their strikes connected with each other. It sends Oersted back a good five paces, pushes Mein to fall on her behind because she stood too close, and makes Naofumi throw the buckler onto the ground with a litany of curses.
Mein throws a quick glance over to Streibough, and the little shit is definitely smirking at Naofumi's misfortune!
"FUCK! SHIT! FUCK! I can't even feel my fingers!" The Shield Hero hops on his feet while nursing his paralyzed hand. "Okay, lesson learned. Don't try to subvert whatever restriction this fucking weapon has even if I can't use it. FUCK!"
The belt on Naofumi's waist, or rather, his mimic balloons suddenly opened their eyes. They detach from the Shield Hero's waist… and each other. Naofumi lets out a surprised yelp and nearly trips him over as his dress falls down on his ankles. Mein blinks her eyes, and realizes that the string that tied the waist of his dress is now gone with the balloons. Mein quickly looks around and grabs a piece of rope lying on top of some barrels. She steps over to the Shield Hero and helps him tie his dress back around his waist.
On the other side, the three rubbery eldritch beings bounce their way over to Sir Oersted's shield now sitting harmlessly on the stony catacomb floor. They look at the piece of armor, blink at each other while making some strange gurgling sound. After a short while, they jump onto the buckler and… seem to merge themselves together again while stretching themselves over Oersted's shield.
Not too long after, what was once Oersted's small, metal buckler has turned into a large plate of orange rubber. Six eyes appear on it, blinking at them and the texture slowly changes back into that of a metal surface.
"Did… did your balloon monsters turn into my metal buckler, after they ate it?" Oersted looks over to the Shield Hero, who returns his equally clueless expression.
"I don't know… maybe? I mean, they did evolve into what's supposedly called 'mimic balloon', and seemed to have gained the ability to mimic traits of monsters they ate." Naofumi walks over to the ground, picks up his balloons mimicking a small shield. He started to look at the air, probably checking over his status screen. "Zellus told me not to trust everything about my status screen but it's… well, interesting. My DEF rating didn't change after I picked up my Yuzus. That's the name of my balloons, by the way. I guess it doesn't technically count as I equipped something, since they are actually creatures mimicking a shield? Does this mean I can technically wield them like a shield? Let's give it another try."
"Alright… if you are." The young knight doesn't look very sure of what the Shield Hero asked him. But he still gets into stance with the Shield Hero. Oersted swings at Naofumi with a very exaggerated overhead swing once again, and the Shield Hero moves to use his actual balloon shield to parry it. This time, Oersted's sheathed sword bounces off without any fanfare.
"Interesting. So I can use creatures like a shield if I can swing around them. Although it uses their DEF rating and health pool. Makes sense. I still have to be careful not to get my Yuzus killed." The Shield Hero scratches his chin as his balloon shield changes texture back into orange rubber, and then disassembles into three happy, bouncing balloons frolicking around his feet. "I guess it's like that time, when I smashed that damn Bitch Lord out cold with her own mace arm…"
"Wait, what's that with the Bitch Lord? Are you talking about who I think it was?" Oersted swings his head so fast, it's a wonder he didn't sprain his own neck.
"Yeah. I had a bit of an encounter with her before the Third Wave. Turns out she's working with some bird lord of Siltvelt."
"Raven Lord, Master Naofumi. More specifically, Towair the Deceiver, Raven Lord of the Moon." Oersted's eye looks like they are about to fall out of their socket by Mein's explanation.
"Right, what Mein said. Anyways, they kidnapped me, forcing my companions to mount a rescue attempt. That fucking Bitch Lord tried to murder Mein in front of me, so I grabbed her mace prosthetic arm, and smashed her unconscious with it. Lucky it used her own ATK rating, guess it's because it's attached to her arm."
"There is certainly not a dull moment around you, Lord Shield Hero."
The days pass away in a blink of eyes. Uranus continues to tutor his three new students, while Ken makes another scout trip the next night. But soon, it's time for them to start their planned revolt. The Okami remnants fully dons their armor, and not the kind of wooden chest piece that makes them look like some bandits who strap whatever they can find on their body.
Wooden plates, with carefully carved decorative ornaments that are composed of a full set of body armor, gauntlets and greaves. With a horned helmet, and face guard that makes them look like some kind of intimidating demons in the dim light. Some of these armors look larger than the people wearing them, clearly passed down to the wearer from their father or mother.
Ken stands in front of the hidden wall exit. He didn't wear anything special, still in his tight clothes, only now with a cloth mask over his mouth and bandages wrapped around his hair to hide most of his face. If what he said about that precious moonstone of his family was true, any armor will probably only slow him down. "We have another exit near the eastern gate where Captain Alderic should be camping. Saya, and our warriors will lead you to it while I go after Captain Rose."
Mein turns her face to look at the short, and unassuming looking raccoon boy. She notices now there's suddenly a piece of green stone hanging over his chest that wasn't previously there. Okami clan and their gemstone accessories. She hopes it's more than simple decoration.
"Be careful, big brother." Minami rushes over to Ken, and jumps into him for an embrace.
"Master Shield Hero. If you are trying to inspire the masses of Graile garrison, you need to look the part." Mein turns to look at the Shield Hero again. He's no longer dressed as a common village girl, but the plain tunic still makes him look unassuming at best. Nagumo carries over a suit of blood red wood armor, and sets it down in front of Naofumi's feet. "That's the armor of House Nagumo passed down from my family. It is made from specially-treated bark of the Holy Sakura tree. It should serve you well in the coming battle."
The Shield Hero looks at the armor in front of him. Despite being made of wood, even Mein can tell that its quality isn't any worse than the one he's forced to leave behind near Gallia city. "Are you sure, Mr. Nagumo? I can't just steal your armor and leave you vulnerable."
"I may not have youth with me, but I have accumulated enough skill throughout my days." Nagumo smiles at the Shield Hero, and begins to move the beads of his prayer beads around his neck with his fingers as if counting them. "You will need it more than I do. Wear my family's armor with pride, it will serve you well."
As some of the non combatant demi-humans begin to dress Naofumi in Nagumo's family armor, Mein notices Streibough looking around the corner of his eyes. She steps over, and grabs his shoulder with her hand. The mage tenses up for a brief second, clearly trying to hide his surprise. But he might as well have jumped out of his skin. "What do you want!?"
"Oh, nothing. Mister Streibough. I just think us mages should stick together. We were a great team against those ash creatures after all."
Because with his suspicion of working with the Three Heroes' Church, she doesn't plan to have him leave her sight.
End Note:
So... I confess when I first started this story (or at least when I started writing Act II), I had absolutely no plan & intention to have Naofumi basically make the same mistakes/cause the same problem as the three weapon heroes did in canon. Yes, both him kind of supported using the bioseed, and leaving the corpse of Zilla and later have it return as a giant zombie monster was pre-planned when I started Act II. Because I want to show how Naofumi could have recreated similar problem as the three weapon heroes in a different context to show that he isn't someone inherently superior to his fellow summoned heroes.
But him inciting a revolt/destabilize a city (depends on if you go with Itsuki's action in my story, or in canon)? No plan for this at all. Mostly because I can't think of any way to have him do something like this without just having him completely lost his mind. In which case that wouldn't be very satisifying... since he'd just been making a mistake because he basically went insane rather than making it naturally.
So yeah. Happy coincident when I realized the situation I created in this most recent arc can have him do something similar to what Itsuki did, and still make sense for the character. In a way, I'd almost argue he's actually making the same mistake Itsuki did for a more selfish reason than Itsuki. As Itsuki had no personal stake with the revolution he caused in Stormwind, and he genuinely thought he was helping the common people rising up against a tyrant. While here, Naofumi is inciting a revolt that'll cause a lot of death mostly to save his own skin. Granted, it's mostly Malty doing it. But he's at least a willing accomplice.
And speaking of Malty... well, it wouldn't be Malty, if she doesn't use her charisma to cause chaos for the LOLZ. But at least she's doing it to cause mischief to the bad guys here. Which makes it better than her canon action, I think.
XD
Also, Naofumi's pet balloons gets a bit more proactive role, than simply jump out and surprise bite someone when they get too close to him.
And to talk about a certain writing trope in Chinese WN scene around 2000 (not sure if there is an existing English trope for it). Main character's pet monster, turning into said character's armor. That's something a number of Chinese WN did back in the day, usually with some variation of a slime like monster.
Although there is one Chinese JRPG fantasy WN series (I won't even try to broken translate it into English as its title is very CHINESE. But a literal one to one, probably broken English translation is 'Heavenly Demon's Divine Talk')'s main gimmick was there is a race of pokemon like creatures (later subverted to reveal that these creatures were biomechanical weapons created by earthling when they were invaded by aliens, and the fantasy creatures like elves populating what looks like a JRPG fantasy world is actually earth in the future and they are actual descendant of the alien invaders. Yes, I know it's absolutely bonkers when I described it like this.) that can all transform into armors and give wearer elemental affinity as they fight in their pokemon armor.
This isn't what inspired my idea where Naofumi's balloon mimick shields, and he can actually 'fight' with them since they are creatures (Naofumi's status doesn't affect them, and they don't affect Naofumi's stats) mimick as a shield. As I only got reminded this trope after I wrote the scene. But I'm glad to have brought something more common in Chinese WN to a Japanese WN fanfiction.